On August 18, Disney will release Disney Infinity, its largest-ever video game effort. Infinity does something unheard of in the Disney universe: It brings well-known characters from different Disney and Pixar properties–Pirates of the Caribbean, Cars, Monsters University, etc.–into a single environment.
As Disney and Pixar’s chief creative officer, John Lasseter is the gatekeeper to many of the company’s most beloved characters, and he was deeply involved in Infinity‘s development. Lasseter helped pioneer computer animation at Lucasfilm, and after Steve Jobs bought the studio’s computer graphics division in 1986, he worked closely with the Apple CEO to establish an independent company called Pixar. When Disney acquired Pixar in 2006, he returned as the company’s head creative executive. He has been a producer for 60 films and directed 16 more, including Toy Story and Cars.
Fast Company recently spoke with Lasseter for a story in the upcoming September issue.
How Steve Jobs Influenced Pixar:
When Jobs bought Lucasfilm’s computer graphics division in 1986, establishing it as an independent company called Pixar, Lasseter became his creative partner. “We were so close he became like a brother to me,” says Lasseter.
Both men admired the other’s work. Jobs liked the idea that stories, unlike technology, didn’t necessarily have a shelf life. “I’ll never forget,” Lasseter says, “Steve Jobs was kind of waxing poetically about things and he said, ‘You know, at Apple when we make a computer, what’s the lifespan of it? Maybe three years. In five years it’s a doorstop. Technology moves so fast. If you do your job right with Toy Story, this thing could last forever.'”
Lasseter, meanwhile, tried to instill his movies with the same quality that Apple built into its products. “Everything I do and everything Pixar does is based on a simple rule: Quality is the best business plan, period. With Steve Jobs, this is what we had driven the company to be all these years.”
